Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937, Tyler, William Royall, 1910-, Tyler, Elisina, 1875-1959., Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959, Tyler, Royall., Berenson, Mary, 1864-1945, Bourget, Paul, 1852-1935., Bromfield, Louis, 1896-1956., Clark, Kenneth, 1903-1983, Cortissoz, Royal, 1869-1948., Farrand, Beatrix, 1872-1959., Gerhardie, William Alexander, 1895-1977, Gillet, Louis, 1876-1943., Mugnier, abbé (Arthur), 1853-1944., Lee, Vernon, 1856-1935., Sheldon, Edward, 1886-1946., Smith, Logan Pearsall, 1865-1946, and Fullerton, William Morton, b. 1865.
- Abstract:
- The Wharton mss., 1836-1975 (bulk 1900-1937), consists of the correspondence, diaries, and writings of novelist Edith Newbold Jones Wharton, 1862-1937.
- Extent:
- 6 Boxes (3 standard; 3 phase boxes)
- Language:
- Materials are in English
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Wharton mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
Edith Newbold Jones Wharton, 1862-1937, was an American novelist. She was born on January 24, 1862 in New York City, the daughter of George Frederic Jones and his wife Lucretia Rhinelander. She began writing at an early age: Verses, a volume of her poems, was published privately when Wharton was 16. She made her debut into society in 1879, participating in the various parties and social events of upper class New York. After an unsuccessful engagement to Henry Leyden Stevens, Wharton married Edward Robbins (Teddy) Wharton on April 29, 1885. She spent her early marriage decorating her various homes and traveling frequently to Europe with her husband. The couple moved to Lenox, Massachusetts in 1902 and established their estate known as The Mount where they would live until 1911. Wharton designed both the interiors and gardens of The Mount according to the principles she had set forth in her first published book, The Decoration of Houses (1897). She also used her time at The Mount to write two of her most famous novels: The House of Mirth (1905) and Ethan Frome (1911).
After divorcing her husband in 1913, Wharton moved to France, where she would live for the duration of World War I. In 1916, Wharton was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her work with charitable and humanitarian causes during the war. At the end of the war, she acquired two new homes: Pavillon Colombe (a villa in Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt) and Sainte-Claire du Château (a restored convent in Hyères). Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence (1920) won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921, making her the first woman to do so. She spent the remainder of her life in France, dying on August 11, 1937 at Pavillon Colombe.
- Scope and Content:
The earliest items in the collection are family related: a commonplace book of Wharton's mother, Lucretia Rhinelander, and an 1847 journal of Wharton's father, George Frederic Jones. The correspondence begins in 1901 and includes letters from Bernard Berenson, Mary (Smith) Berenson, Paul Bourget, Louis Bromfield, Sir Kenneth Clark, Royal Cortissoz, Beatrix Farrand, William Alexander Gerhardie, Louis Gillet, Abbé Arthur Mugnier, Violet Paget, Edward Brewster Sheldon, Logan Pearsall Smith, Elisina Tyler, Royall Tyler, and William Royal Tyler, as well as nearly 400 letters from Edith Wharton to the Tyler family. Her own diaries cover primarily 1920-1937, but also present is the so-called "love diary" (A Life Apart) of 1907-08. Writings present include typescripts of her full-length works (Age of Innocence, A Backward Glance, and Gods Arrive) as well as many poems both published and unpublished. A file of about two hundred photographs of Wharton and friends, of Pavillon Colombe, of Saint Claire Château, and of her other residences (The Mount, Pencraig, and 58 rue de Varenne) complete this portion of the collection.
The remaining portion of the collection consists of files relating to Edith Wharton's death and her estate, as well as correspondence and other materials gathered by the executor of her French will, Elisina Tyler, for a planned biography of Wharton. The biography was never completed, and following Elisina's death in 1959, her son, William Royall Tyler, took over as executor of the Wharton estate. His correspondence as well as some additional materials relating to his own reminiscences of Mrs. Wharton, complete the entire collection. Among the correspondents in this Wharton/Tyler portion of the collection are William Morton Fullerton, William Alexander Gerhardie, Frederic Rhinelander King, John Hugh Smith, Elisina Tyler, William Royall Tyler, Emelyn Webster Washburn, and Armitage Watkins.
All of this material was consulted and used by R.W.B. Lewis in his volume Edith Wharton: A Biography (New York: Harper & Row, 1975) and is described and cited there as the William Royall Tyler Collection, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.
Note on Indexing Term - "World War, 1914-1918": During World War I when she was living in France, Wharton became involved in various philanthropic activities and there is some material in the collection concerning these activities.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired: 1976
- Processing information:
This collection has been reboxed. Some files retain a physical label with the original box number.
- Arrangement:
The collection is organized into family-related items, correspondence, writings, and files relating to Edith Wharton's death and estate.
- Physical location:
- Lilly - Stacks
Indexed Terms
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Wharton mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@iu.edu